Splenic Infarct Due to a Patent Foramen Ovale and Paradoxical Emboli Post-COVID-19 Infection: A Case Study

Emma J Norton; Nadim Sheikh

doi:10.7759/cureus.14887

Splenic Infarct Due to a Patent Foramen Ovale and Paradoxical Emboli Post-COVID-19 Infection: A Case Study

Cureus. 2021 May 7;13(5):e14887. doi: 10.7759/cureus.14887.

Authors

Emma J Norton^{1

2}, Nadim Sheikh¹

Affiliations

¹ Gastroenterology Department, West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, Bury St Edmunds, GBR.
² Division of Anaesthesia, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, GBR.

Abstract

Hypercoagulability is now a recognized complication of COVID-19 infection. Despite this, splenic infarction remains rare and is often found incidentally, radiologically, or at autopsy. We report a case of symptomatic splenic infarction with superimposed infection, secondary to COVID-19-induced hypercoagulability in a young patient with paradoxical emboli due to an undiagnosed patent foramen ovale (PFO). This multifactorial case should prompt a level of suspicion of the patient with unexplained abdominal pain and recent COVID-19 infection.

Keywords: covid-19; patent foramen ovale; splenic infarct.

Publication types

Case Reports